Ruby Tuesday – Mowing & Weeding

Hello! Thought it was about time I updated you with Ruby and her garden a little bit! I have really neglected things with all that has been happening recently, so it was good to get back in and start sorting out weeds (never ending!)

Ruby’s big paddock out the side of her house was pretty weedy and unkempt, so Jeff came along with me today to tidy that up a bit

My aim in life is to have a hydrangea bush go this mad. Its magnificent!

My job today was to tackle that oxalis and other random weeds in the patch where Ruby’s beetroot, carrots and dwarf beans are

It seriously takes forever!

I was pretty filthy by the end of the day!

Glad I dropped off all that seaweed grass the other week. I can now mulch as I weed – slow them down somewhat!

Ruby wandered out partway through my job today. She was apologising for having a Nanna-Nap instead of being outside helping! Bless her cotton socks!! 😀
She stayed out with me for a short while. Her foot is a LOT better these days. It gave her grief almost all of last year. Good to see that has eased up a bit.
She has chairs strategically set up around the garden so she can plonk herself down when she needs to. And she can also do a bit more weeding while she sits there too!

Mind you she is there for about a minute before she is up and off again ferreting about for things – this time it was scissors and string to tie up a tomato

“What are you doing?” says Ruby, not too deaf to hear the click click of my camera? “Taking photos of the Old Girl??”
I tell her I have to get action shots for my readers and she chuckles away!

There is lots of food happening. Like with most everywhere else this season – things are late. Ruby’s peas are almost done. She has had a lovely time picking and podding. As you saw above, her runner beans have just started producing. There are a few potatoes, small carrots, cucumber, lettuce and a few ripe tomatoes (she is such a show-off!!)

 

I also redug and planted some parsnip seeds. Ruby has done it twice already and nothing came up!! We are not sure if its the seeds or weather, so we are just giving it another go.

We are all eagerly awaiting the plums! I hope there will be enough for me to pinch a few to make my plum Worcestershire sauce! I have run out and I am sad about that.  They also make superb jam!

Jeff had finished up so it was time to come in for a drink and a chat. We opted for cold drinks today instead of a cuppa!
We really hadn’t seen Ruby since before Christmas when Jeff went on nights and I caught a cold!
She was telling us funny stories about one of her brothers, Col. He was a bit of a larrikin when he was young. Around the Christmas Holidays all the young people would get together at a swimming spot in the river. This particular day they swam across and noticed Col hadn’t followed. Apparently they saw bubbles and figured he was under them, so a rescue got underway!!!
Luckily his sister (Ruby) had just done her nurse training and was able to do all the right things. Meanwhile one of the other friends went haring back to their home to blurt out to Ruby’s parents “Call the doctor – Col’s drowned!” Eep!! As Ruby said – not much point really, as being in the country, you have to mostly help yourself as the doctor was a tidy distance away.
Before Ruby’s mother could have a complete heart attack the call went out that he wasn’t drowned, as they dragged him up to the house. He still had to go to the doctors!

Then, fully recovered, Col and friends wanted to get up to mischief and play tricks on New Years. That entailed daubing the local grocery shop with some spots of whitewash!! Apparently that was the second year that had done that and the second time earned them some buckshot in the backsides!!!

Ruby had heard of these shenanigans up at the hospital that she worked at and took it upon herself to write a very stern letter to her brother to tell him to pull his socks up! She went as far as getting a fellow nurse to address the letter so her mother wouldn’t recognise her writing as usually her letters were read to all the family.
Ruby’s family had suffered through the death of her sister, Sylvie, who had been ill with some complicated form of epilepsy, and young Syd went off to war and was the first casualty from Tasmania.
Ruby wanted to remind Col to be mindful and careful as their parents didn’t want to have to suffer through any more losses!

But she did add with pride that Col grew up to be a very good person.

Anyway – time to take my slightly aching arms to bed – not sure if it was the brick moving from yesterday or the 5 hours of weeding today!!

Cheers!